A bi-weekly assessment of how confident I’m feeling when the Cubs call on each member of their bullpen. These assessments are often not completely rational.
With a doubleheader with the Brewers on tap for today, we get a super-bonus, 10-man bullpen confidence rankings! After a few rough weeks, the bullpen seems to have hit a pretty good stride lately, with the two trade additions providing some stability.
Red means a player has dropped
Green a player has moved up
Blue a player stayed the same
Orange the player is new
No gray hair (extremely high confidence):
–Brad Keller – With the Palencia illness, we got a preview of Brad Keller, closer. And it did not look bad. Here’s my hot take for today’s blog: if Palencia needs ore extended time off, or struggle, I could see Keller taking on the closer role full time.
–Caleb Thielbar – He continues to be rock solid, and I feel very good each and every time Counsell call on him out of the pen.
Wisps of gray hair (high confidence):
–Daniel Palencia – It was not a save situation, but Palencia gave up the (ultimately) game winning home run in the top of the 9th to the Pirates. His stuff is electric, but he’s been giving up lots of baserunners lately, and you really want your closer to mix in a few clean innings, as it is nearly impossible to keep getting away with allowing baserunners.
–Andrew Kittredge – With Palencia out sick (?) and Keller down after pitching in two straight, Kittredge was called upon to save the game on Sunday, and he shut the door in a game the Cubs really needed to have. As much as the trade deadline for the Cubs has been derided – justifiably – they did get a good couple of arms in Rogers and Kittredge, replacing Pressley and Flexen.
Some gray hair (medium confidence):
–Taylor Rogers – Rogers is only sample size away from moving up to the next tier. In 4.1 innings over 5 games, he’s given up 2 hits and 1 walk, and has struck out 6.
–Drew Pomeranz – After a few shaky outings, Pomeranz seems to have righted his ship, with no runs in his last 8 outings dropping his ERA to 1.85. Counsell has not been using him as much, with 2 other lefties in the pen, with his 3.29 FIP as a reminder that he has been allowing baserunners. I’d expect him to see plenty of time this week, with 8 games in 7 days coming up (capping off a run of 16 games in 15 days).
Lots of gray hair (low confidence)
–Ryan Brasier – Another drop for Brasier, as he continues to give up runs. The boat is leaking, and unless he can prove that he can get outs, he might be the next man on the Cabrera, Flexen, Pressley path to Davey’s Jones’s DFA locker. He’s given up runs in 5 of his last 6 outings – 9 over only 4.2 innings, causing his ERA to balloon from 0.93 to 4.13.
–Ben Brown – I guess he’s a reliever now, and he somehow stayed on the roster instead of Javier Assad for the moment. His stuff looks great, but he just can stop giving up runs – with his most recent outing against the Pirates seeming like the norm. The good news is that he was able to shut the door after giving up a couple runs in his first inning, going for 2.1 innings of relief when Assad was only able to go 4 as the starter.
–Luke Little – I would not expect him to be here for long, as the double-header necessitated an couple extra arms for the Cubs bullpen. I would not be shocked if he’s only around for today, and gets sent down when Taillon is activated from the IL. I love his velocity, but his issue in his previous stints in Chicago has been control. He does give the Cubs 4 lefties today, so I’d expect we will see him against Turang, Yelich or Frelick (or a righty pinch hitter).
–Gavin Hollowell – The rare “27th man”, Hollowell will almost certainly pitch in his one day with the club. The 6’7 righty has shown flashes of something this season, but he’s been quite poor in AAA, with a whopping 6.04 ERA.
No hair left (no confidence)
Not Applicable (minors or injured):
–Ethan Roberts -AAA
–Jordan Wicks – AAA – Wicks has been better lately, and I’m a bit surprised he was not the guy brought up for the double-header, as he would be more likely to provide a few extended innings.
–Porter Hodge – AAA – Hodge has been good in August, after a tough July in Des Moines. I would expect him back in Chicago on September 1st, when rosters are expanded, assuming health and a continuation of better form. The one concern recently has been control, which might be the thing holding him back from rejoining the major league team at the moment
–Nate Pearson – AAA
–Tom Cosgrove – AAA
–Tyson Miller – AAA
–Eli Morgan – IL
Released/DFA’d
Cubs in 7 
Leave a comment